Transgenic rabbit models for studying human cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases involve the heart or blood vessels and remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. A variety of animal models have been used to study cardiovascular diseases and have contributed to our understanding of their pathophysiology and treatment. However, mutations or abnormal expression of specific genes play important roles in the pathophysiology of some heart diseases, for which a closely similar animal model often is not naturally available. With the advent of techniques for specific genomic modification, several transgenic and knockout mouse models have been developed for cardiovascular conditions that result from spontaneous mutations. However, mouse and human heart show marked electrophysiologic differences. In addition, cardiac studies in mouse models are extremely difficult because of their small heart size and fast heart rate. Therefore, larger genetically engineered animal models are needed to overcome the limitations of the mouse models. This review summarizes the transgenic rabbit models that have been developed to study cardiovascular diseases.